On September 10, 2018, the Governor of South Carolina issued two executive orders in anticipation of the arrival of Hurricane Florence. The first order directed the mandatory evacuation of portions of eight counties beginning at noon on September 11, 2018.1 The second order directed the closure of all state government offices in twenty-six of the forty-six counties beginning on September 11, 2018, to facilitate the evacuations.2 As a result, several hundred thousand South Carolina citizens evacuated their homes, and impacts of these evacuations were felt in counties which were not subject to any closure or evacuation. The Governor subsequently issued several executive orders rescinding the mandatory evacuations and closures, with the last remaining portion being rescinded effective at 9:00 a.m. on September 16, 2018.3

Hurricane Florence caused significant damage and resulted in six reported deaths in South Carolina. As of the date of this order, there are over 16,000 reported power outages in South Carolina, and five counties remain closed. The impact of Hurricane Florence will adversely affect the ability of many lawyers and litigants to comply with deadlines, even though the evacuation and closure orders have been rescinded.

Accordingly, this Court finds it appropriate to declare the days of Tuesday, September 11, 2018, through Friday, September 21, 2018, to be statewide "holidays" for the purposes of computing time under Rule 263 of the South Carolina Appellate Court Rules; Rule 6 of the South Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure; Rule 35 of the South Carolina Rules of Criminal Procedure; and Rule 3 of the South Carolina Rules of Magistrates Court.